The problem with nostalgia is that it causes us to look at the past with rose-tinted glasses. No matter how good we have it today, we somehow also look back at the past as if it were better than what we have today. This is the only way I can explain Hollywood’s fixation with constantly going into its vault to bring back classics from the past.
There’s nothing wrong with rebooting classic films for a new generation, but the frequency with which we are seeing these sort of reboots or sequels taking place is perhaps the issue. And the next popular 90s franchise that is coming back is that of Sister Act. The Whoopi Goldberg led film about singing nuns turned into a surprise hit back in 1992, with a follow-up, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit also proving popular with audiences and both films are still watched to this day.
I guess its that popularity that is leading the filmmakers to want to return to the franchise for a sequel, almost 30 years later, During a recent interview on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Goldberg shared the news that the studio felt initially that a third Sister Act movie many years go would not be successful and so put off plans for making one. Now however, they feel the time is right to try and find a way to return to the franchise for another sequel:
For a long time, they kept saying no one wanted to see it. And then, quite recently, it turns out that that may not be true – people might want to see it. So, we’re working diligently to try to figure out how to get every…get the gang together and come back. Listen, it’s a really fun movie. It’s fun and it feels good and you know, nobody’s mad, you know, it’s just like, listen: bad singing, great singing, okay singing and then nuns. What is better than that? Nothing
Goldberg is not saying that a third movie is definitely happening, as it appears there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before any production plans will start, but you don’t drop news like that on a talk show if you are not serious about them. Typically films that have a sequel so many years later end up losing the magic that made them popular in the first place and do not always translate well towards modern audiences. Bad Boys for Life proved that it can be done though and so perhaps if they can find the right story that justifies bringing the characters together, then it might just work.
I enjoyed the Sister Act films and watched them again a few years ago, and found they held up quite well. There is merit in having a third film work. Though a part of me also feels that revisiting it again could also ruin what fond memories we still have for the originals.
Last Updated: October 9, 2020
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 15:25
Hmmm, I think the concept of this movie can still work wonderfully. It all depends in how much they “translate the themes” into modern times whether or not there will be an actual audience for it. Certain topics would alienate a lot of people. But if it hold true to the core of the originals, it could be great!
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 17:26
Exactly, I mean what made the first movie work, was that she was an unlikely hero, just an everyday-woman with flaws who has to go into witness protection, but instead of ending up in suburbia, she ends up in a convent.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 17:18
I’d rather she didn’t make another Sister’s Act. I loved the first movie, although I can’t remember the second so I’m not sure whether I enjoyed it, or not This is another Hollywood trend that is increasingly showing diminished returns, and if this isn’t a massive failure, I’m going to very surprised.
There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia, but there’s everything wrong with trying to dust off and then modernise stories from a couple of decades ago, and then filtering them through a modern lens. There’s a reason why these movies always fail. As much as Hollywood wants to believe that audience share their political or ideological views, they don’t, and when we look at a company like Disney, their own political views are mutable (and ever changing depending on who writes their pay check). One minute they’re supporting Black Lives Matter in the most nauseating and pandering of ways, and the next they’re in China, where they’ve airbrushed out or minimised John Boyega from a movie poster.
Insomnia is fun
October 12, 2020 at 09:40
Nun saw this coming.